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ETF Insider: Bears Win The Election

Just as many had anticipated, this trading week turned out to be nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Stocks kicked off trading on a positive note, leading many to believe that election results would further boost markets as uncertainty faded away. Following Obama’s re-election, however, the bears came back to Wall Street, sparking a broad-based wave of profit-taking, and ultimately sinking major indexes into deep red territory as the week drew to a close [see Free 7 Simple & Cheap All-ETF Model Portfolios].

Our picks from Monday’s Insider posted disappointing performance results as profit-taking pressures in the second half of the week proved too strong for the bulls to overcome. Below, we highlight how our trade ideas fared during the week [sign up for a free trial of ETFdb Pro to get actionable ETF ideas every Monday, as well as access to more than 45 all-ETF model portfolios].

Trade #1 Long XLE: Down 1.3%

This ETF got off to a robust start as the energy sector rebounded on Monday and extended gains into Tuesday, setting just shy of $73 a share. Wednesday’s profit-taking, however, sank shares back below the $71 mark, leeching away all of our accumulated gains. XLE continued to sink lower into Thursday, triggering our stop-loss as it crossed below $70 a share, and ultimately leaving us with a minor loss on the week.

Trade #2 Long IBB: Down 1.5%

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Like XLE, this recommendation also got off to a promising start only to leave us with a minor loss as our stop-loss was triggered. This ETF saw bullish momentum evaporate on Wednesday as profit-taking pressures dragged it below $130 a share. Continued selling into Thursday triggered our stop-loss, leaving us with another frustrating loss on the week.

Trade #3 Long LQD : Down 0.6%

Even our defensive bond recommendation couldn’t escape the rampant profit -aking on Wall Street this week. LQD traded sideways in the first half of the week, only to give in to bearish pressures on Thursday and Friday alongside the equity market, ultimately triggering our stop-loss at the $121.50 level and leaving us with a small loss.

Our bond-heavy retirement portfolios also had a difficult time keeping heads above water as profit-taking pressures showed no mercy across asset classes. From a year-to-date perspective, our 20 Years Til Retirement Portfolio remains on top, with our 5 Years Til Retirement lagging behind in last place.

Weakness on Wall Street collided with a European sell-off, prompting a broad-based “risk-off” trade all over the globe. Our Africa-Centric Portfolio proved most resilient, while our Euro Free Europe Portfolio turned in the worst performance on the week.

Among our themed strategies, it wasn’t terribly surprising to see our ultra-defensive Sky Is Falling Portfolio turn in a positive performance while the majority struggled to stay in green territory; among the worst performers were the High Tech Portfolio and the Energy Bull Portfolio as weakness in both of these sectors was quite pronounced throughout the week.